What to know before applying for preschool

A summary of what to know before filing a preschool application for your child.

To enroll in a Reykjavík City preschool, your child must maintain legal residence and a permanent address in Reykjavík.

You can apply for preschool as soon as your child is registered with Registers Iceland. This usually happens a few days after your child's birth.
Applying early does not affect how quickly your child receives a preschool opening. Children enter the waitlist by ID number, with the oldest placed first.

Children join the waitlist for their chosen preschools at 6 months of age, though you can file an application earlier.
The waitlist updates daily as new applications arrive, ranked by ID number.
Openings are allocated by ID number, meaning older children receive offers before younger ones.

The city aims to provide a preschool offer for the fall to all children who reach 18 months of age by Sept. 1. For instance, children born by late February 2026 will receive an offer during the 2027 main allocation.
The main allocation occurs each year in early March. These openings apply to the upcoming fall, when the preschool's oldest children advance to primary school.
Applications filed after the main allocation are processed later, making it harder to secure an opening since preschools typically fill up during the main allocation.

We make every effort to accommodate parents' preferences.
Starting with the oldest child on the overall waitlist, we carefully review each application and offer an opening at the first-choice preschool whenever possible.
If that proves impossible, we consider the second choice, then the third, and so on.
First choice: Select your preferred preschool. Since openings are unpredictable, you don't want to risk missing a spot at your top choice. List a sibling's preschool as your first choice to improve the chances of keeping your children together.
Additional choices: Select preschools you are willing to accept if your first choice is unavailable.
The Preschool Admission Tracker can help guide your choices.

If your child is ineligible for the March main allocation — meaning they won't reach 18 months by Sept. 1 — consider including a nursery school or a preschool with an infant unit among your choices, as these can sometimes accommodate younger children. Find more information about nursery schools and infant units.
To attend a nursery school, a child must be under 2 years old when enrollment starts. Only children born on Sept. 1 of the previous year or later qualify for a nursery school opening through Reykjavík City.
Children can attend a nursery school until the year they turn 3. At that point, they must apply for a transfer.